Jagdpanzer 38(t) "Hetzer"
The Jagdpanzer 38(t) (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), later known as Hetzer ("baiter"), was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t)chassis. The project was inspired by the Romanian "Mareşal" tank destroyer. The name Hetzer was at the time not commonly used for this vehicle. It was the designation for a related prototype, the E-10. The Škoda factory for a very short period confused the two names in its documentation. Thus, the very first unit equipped with the vehicle applied the incorrect name for a few weeks until matters were cleared. However, there exists a memorandum from Heinz Guderian to Hitler claiming that an unofficial name, Hetzer, had spontaneously been coined by the troops. Post-war historians basing themselves on this statement made the name popular in their works, the vehicle was never named as such in official documents. The Jagdpanzer 38(t) fitted into the lighter category of German tank destroyers that began with the Panzerjäger I, continued with the Marder series and ended with the Jagdpanzer 38(t). The 75 mm PaK 39 L/48 gun of the Jagdpanzer 38(t) was a modified version of the 75 mm StuK 40 L/48 used in the StuG III and StuG IV assault guns. With this gun the Jagdpanzer 38(t) was able to destroy nearly all allied or soviet tank types in service at long ranges (except heavy tanks) and its fully enclosed armor protection made it a safer vehicle to crew than the open-topped Marder II or Marder III series. The Jagdpanzer 38(t) was one of the most common late-war German tank destroyers. It was available in relatively large numbers and was generally mechanically reliable. Also, its small size made it easier to conceal than larger vehicles. Like some other late-war German SPGs, the Jagdpanzer 38(t) mounted a remote-control machine gun mount which could be fired from within the vehicle. This proved popular with crews, though to reload the gun a crewmember needed to expose himself to enemy fire. Its main failings were comparatively thin side armor, limited ammunition stowage, poor gun traverse, poor internal layout that made operating the vehicle difficult, as well as torsion bars and drive wheels that were prone to failure due to the increased weight. Jagdpanzer 38(t) first entered service with the Heeres Panzerjäger-Abteilung 731 in July 1944. This unit was sent to Army Group North on the Eastern Front. Until the end of the war use the Germans the hetzer in combat. In FHSW, the Hetzer is since his debut in version 0.4 a popular vehicle. BF1942 2014-08-14 23-47-11-38.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-47-13-82.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-47-20-88.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-47-29-14.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-47-49-33.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-47-53-44.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-49-07-14.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-49-09-58.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-49-11-65.jpg BF1942 2014-08-14 23-46-29-26.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-12-19-51.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-12-22-63.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-12-26-98.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-12-30-46.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-12-35-16.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-25-40-40.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-25-45-46.jpg In Polish Service One vehicle have been captured by the Polish Resistance at 'Middlecity' and called 'Chwat', which can be found on the map Warsaw Uprising. The vehicle is damaged, the engine is broken. The tank can move, but very slowly. Also there is no choice between AP and HE rounds. BF1942 2014-08-15 00-09-13-33.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-09-22-84.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-09-35-52.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-09-40-60.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-22-54-95.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-22-57-61.jpg BF1942 2014-08-15 00-19-33-31.jpg Category:German Equipment Category:Tank destroyers Category:Polish Equipment Category:Night Vision